Harlech Foodservice, which has bases in Criccieth and Chester, has taken on an extra 15 delivery drivers and is also recruiting more warehouse staff to meet demand.
David Cattrall with delivery vehicles ready to go out.
Managing director David Cattrall said: “Our deliveries are rolling out as usual – we are even going out to pick up stock from suppliers who normally deliver to us.
“We are collecting 100 pallets a day that would normally be delivered to us and today that will include 26 pallets of ice to get our customers through this summer heatwave.
“This is a really busy time of the year for us here in North Wales as the schools have broken up and people are heading for the tourist spots across Mid and North Wales so it’s important to reassure our customers that they can rely on us for deliveries.”
The reassurance from Harlech comes as many supermarkets and wholesalers have been forced to reduce deliveries, and big gaps have appeared on the shelves as staff are forced to self-isolate after being pinged by NHS Track and Trace.
Harlech has also already begun a special late-night ordering service – customers can order up to 10pm on Harlech’s website, and night staff at its depots then work through the small hours to pick the orders for delivery the next morning.
This service has proved very popular, says Cattrell, as hotels, guesthouses, caravans and campsites fill up in the sunshine and demand rockets.
Cattrall said: “The 10pm order cut off has proved very popular with our customers as it allows them to place and increase orders at the end of service and that’s why we are looking to recruit at least 20 more warehouse nightshift staff at £10.69 an hour and with a £500 bonus if they stay with us to the end of September.”
He added: “We’ve been able to afford these rises because we have worked on improving our systems and working practices during lockdown, for example by improving our e-commerce website which makes it easier for customer to search for products and see our transparent prices.”
Harlech Foodservice, which was founded in 1972, offers more than 5,000 product lines to hotels, restaurants, cafés, pubs and public sector customers across Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West.
